Spite

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Would you shoot your chief of police because he arrested your best friend? Or would you malign his reputation in a very public way? If you did, could you count on him to help you later? Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.

There’s a similar point to be made about cheating: when people cheat by breaking the rules, then other side will want to cheat too. The consequence is bad for everyone, you can’t count on the rules to help you any more. Here’s an obvious and recent reminder: in November 2013, Senate Democrats used the so-called “nuclear option” to eliminate the 60-vote rule on executive branch nominations and federal judicial appointments other than those to the Supreme Court. They wanted to get their people in. Seems a lot of people think “turn about is fair play.” Now, Democrats are complaining that the Republican controlled administration and senate will pack the federal courts with biased judges by using the same trick.

Better for everyone in the long-run not to destroy the chief of police, not to break the rules, and not to cheat back at the rule breakers.

The Center for Free, Fair, and Accountable Democracy

Our Mission

We provide non-partisan civic education for adults age 18 and above, focused on the benefits of representative democracy, the foundations of trust in representative democracy, and the role of citizens in defending their democracies.